Synopses & Reviews
Blake's
A Dark Anatomy has been called "impressive" (
Publishers Weekly) and "a solid winner" (
Booklist) and
Dark Waters, the second book in the Cragg & Fidelis series, will leave readers hungry for more
Preston, 1741. The drowning of drunken publican Antony Egan is no surprise—even if it comes as an unpleasant shock to coroner Titus Cragg, whose wife was the old mans niece. But he does his duty to the letter, and the inquests verdict is accidental death. Meanwhile the town is agog with rumour and faction, as the General Election is only a week away and the two local seats are to be contested by four rival candidates. But Craggs close friend, Dr. Luke Fidelis, finds evidence to cast doubt on the events leading to Egans demise. Soon suspicions are further roused when a well-to-do farmer collapses and it appears he was in town on political business. Is there a conspiracy afoot? The Mayor and Council have their own way of imposing order, but Cragg is determined not to be swayed by their pressure. With the help of Fideliss scientific ingenuity the true criminals are brought to light.
Review
“Titus and Lukes second case is a fine mystery, awash in period detail.” —Booklist
“Particularly clever . . . Even experienced mystery readers will be surprised and gratified.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for A Dark Anatomy:
“An impressive whodunit.” —Publishers Weekly (starred)
“Fascinating . . . Cragg and Fidelis make a terrific detecting duo . . . Blakes knowledge of an eighteenth-century backwater just shaking off medieval superstitions is deep and engaging. A solid winner.” —Booklist (starred)
“Blake uses this setting to show the times, the people and events in a book you wont be able to put down. Flawless . . . a fascinating mystery with psychological underpinnings. The next book will be eagerly anticipated.” —RT Book Reviews
“Blake starts his story with a bang and keeps the reader engaged to the end.”
—MysteryTribune.com
Synopsis
Blake's A Dark Anatomy has been called "impressive" (Publishers Weekly) and "a solid winner" (Booklist) and Dark Waters, the second book in the Cragg & Fidelis series, will leave readers hungry for more
Preston, 1741. The drowning of drunken publican Antony Egan is no surprise-even if it comes as an unpleasant shock to coroner Titus Cragg, whose wife was the old man's niece. But he does his duty to the letter, and the inquest's verdict is accidental death. Meanwhile the town is agog with rumour and faction, as the General Election is only a week away and the two local seats are to be contested by four rival candidates. But Cragg's close friend, Dr. Luke Fidelis, finds evidence to cast doubt on the events leading to Egan's demise.
Soon suspicions are further roused when a well-to-do farmer collapses and it appears he was in town on political business. Is there a conspiracy afoot? The Mayor and Council have their own way of imposing order, but Cragg is determined not to be swayed by their pressure. With the help of Fidelis's scientific ingenuity the true criminals are brought to light.
About the Author
ROBIN BLAKE is the author of acclaimed works on the artists Van Dyck and Stubbs. He has written, produced and presented extensively for radio, is widely published as a critic, and is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Brunel University. He lives in London.